Every year, whoever is Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, dedicates an end-of-the-year message to its former colonies, today called Overseas Territories. But each one imposes its own mark on it, which also depends on the political and economic context that it is going through.
For this 2021, Boris Johnson appealed to irony to highlight that London defends the autonomy it grants to the islands, in addition to its sovereignty, and that they are recognized at the international level. In addition, he recalled that April will be the 40th anniversary of the war that he summarized as “the invasion, occupation and liberation of your islands” by the Argentine forces.
“During those four decades, many things in the world have changed beyond recognition. But one thing that remains absolutely unchanged is the UK’s commitment to the Falkland Islands and its people. It is as strong a commitment as it was when the Major General Moore accepted General Menendez’s surrender. And I can promise you now that that is not going to change, “Johnson said.
The prime minister is going through one of the worst moments of his government, harassed by the increase in coronavirus cases but above all because, among other political errors, he and his inner circle have held allegedly inappropriate social gatherings when the British people were kept in quarantine. . Something similar to the photos that circulated of the 2020 birthday of the Argentine first lady, Fabiola Yañez and that became known as the Olivos gate. But in Britain, released photos of Johnson and his family at a party can bring down his government.
But beyond that, the foreign agenda is state policy and in the message to the islanders, Johnson did not miss a single comma of the events involving the islands. Hence, he appealed to irony to something recently happened.
“After all, 2021 was the year in which even the International Table Tennis Federation (ping pong) recognized, in the face of noisy protests from some quarters, the inviolable sovereignty of the table tennis (ping pong) players of the Falkland and the wiff waffers (This is what he calls ping pong in an old dispute about its origin)“he began by saying.” And as long as you and your fellow islanders wish to remain under the umbrella of the British Overseas Territories, that is exactly where you will stay. “
The “noisy protests” referred to a recent claim, not disclosed here, by Argentina and the president of the Argentine Table Tennis Federation before the International Tennis Federation to prevent the Falkland Islands from participating as independent members. The claim was lost and players from the islands participated as the Falkland Islands.
As reflected in the island press, the president of the Argentine Table Tennis Federation, Fernando Joffre, wrote: “The Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands are an integral part of the Argentine national territory. And as under the illegitimate British occupation they are in a colonial situation and in particular recognized as such by the United Nations, which recognizes the existence of a sovereignty dispute and calls on both parties to resume negotiations, peacefully. That is why I want to express Argentina’s rejection and concern about how it is responding to this request ”
For her part, in a fun video with anecdotes, tastes and hobbies from her private life, the new British Ambassador to Argentina, Kirsty Hayes, took the opportunity to wish her Argentine followers Happy Holidays, in a completely different and close-up message. “Health to all of you and your loved ones,” said the diplomat in the video that can be seen on the British Embassy’s social networks (@UKinArgentina on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) and in which she answers 18 questions to get to know her better. There, the successor of Mark Kent also asks users to recommend tango teachers since she aspires to use her time in Argentina to learn some steps of that dance.
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